Set mainly in Scotland during the early part of the last century,
When Dark Clouds Pass revolves around the lives of two brothers
born into a close-knit mining community. The protagonist, Iain
Baird, despises his younger sibling, Alastair, and is jealous of
the alleged favouritism he receives. Following the death of their
father in a mining accident, Iain is held responsible and is forced
to leave the village. He finds employment in a Glasgow shipyard,
and later in a munitions works where he becomes involved in the
revolutionary socialist movement. Meanwhile their mother is
determined that her younger son should have a better future, and
encourages him to train as a teacher in Edinburgh. Despite going
their separate ways, the two brothers are thrown together once more
on the death of their mother. Events following the funeral ensure
that they can never be reconciled; their enmity will continue to
fester and grow, even as Europe is plunged into the abyss of war.
Neither can escape the forces unleashed by the conflagration,
whether on Red Clydeside or the killing fields of the Somme. Iain
plays a leading role in the agitation for revolutionary change and
suffers imprisonment as a conscientious objector; Alastair
volunteers for the army, only to be invalided out after a botched
attack on the Western Front. In the midst of conflict and upheaval
their feud remains undimmed, before reaching a climax in the
closing days of the Great War. When Dark Clouds Pass will appeal to
those looking for a suspense-filled story set in the First World
War.